


Tangled Fates

by Pauliestorylover



Series: What Could Have Been (BNHA) [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: BAMF Midoriya Izuku, Badass Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Bakugou Katsuki Faces Consequences, Complicated Relationships, Family Drama, Family Secrets, Gen, Guardian Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Lucky Charm And Miraculous Ladybugs Cure | Ladybug Miraculous Superpowers, Midoriya Izuku Does Not Have One for All Quirk, Mouse Miraculous, Mouse! Izuku, Quirkless Midoriya Izuku, Sensei | All For One is Midoriya Hisashi, Sensei | All For One is Midoriya Izuku's Parent, Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko is Not a Villain, Supportive Tikki (Miraculous Ladybug)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-13 23:35:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29534169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pauliestorylover/pseuds/Pauliestorylover
Summary: When Izuku attracted the attention of pro hero Ladybug and was offered the mouse miraculous, he gained a chance to be the hero he had always wanted to be.He also became entangled in a web of complicated relationships tracing back to the Dawn of the Age of Quirks, but that was a small price to pay. Or so he thought.
Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Kwamis, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku & Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko
Series: What Could Have Been (BNHA) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1926127
Comments: 6
Kudos: 74





	Tangled Fates

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm clearing out my drafts, which happens to have _a lot_ of chapter ones. That's my excuse for why I keep posting first chapters of multi-chapter fics (⌒_⌒;)
> 
> A note of warning: I have no idea when I'm updating this next
> 
> (Also, this is the expanded version of an outline I posted a while ago. I changed a lot of details though, so they're practically different stories.)

Izuku was ten when he met the pro hero who changed his life.

At that time, he had been defending a young girl - who had crashed into Kacchan while running in the park – from Kacchan’s wrath.

Kacchan’s hands sparked, and Izuku knew at that moment that he had to do something. The girl’s guardians were nowhere to be seen – they were actually the only people in the park. It had to be him.

Without thinking, Izuku stepped in front of the girl, “Stop it, Kacchan!” Timidly, the girl shrunk behind him.

Kacchan paused. The two goons behind him blinked. Izuku continued, trembling, “Why are you being so mean? You're making her cry Kacchan. If you keep on hurting her, I- I'll…I'll stop you myself!” Izuku swallowed. He had no idea what he was doing – Kacchan was going to be _so_ angry at him, but his legs – and his mouth – had moved without his approval.

Then, Kacchan laughed loudly, as if Izuku had just done the funniest thing in the world—in retrospect, he probably had. Behind him, his goons copied his laughter confusedly. When Kacchan finally regained contol, he snorted, “You’re trying to pretend to be a hero, Deku? You don’t stand a _chance_.” With that, he reared his hand back in preparation for a big explosion.

Izuku flinched, shutting his eyes in terror, but the explosion never came.

“That isn’t very heroic, boy.”

Izuku opened his eyes, surprised. A woman in a red-and-black-spotted suit stood in front of him, blocking Kacchan’s explosions without flinching. The girl he was protecting let out a gasp, “Ladybug!”

…Ladybug! She was one of the few International heroes approved to work in all countries. Her quirk was unknown, but it allowed her to create and restore things without significant drawbacks, which was really powerful! Momentarily forgetting Kacchan, Izuku’s hands itched for a notebook. Up close, her suit seemed to be made up of a strange material that stuck to her skin but wasn’t too revealing. That should give her the ability and flexibility to move without any materials getting in her way. Her famed yo-yo hung on her black utility belt. Izuku really wanted to see it in action. Ladybug’s yo-yo had so many functions that no online forum seemed to be able to list all of them out. Izuku knew the wire of the yo-yo was made of some sort of metal alloy, but the feats it was capable of performing seemed to break the laws of physics. He has once seen a video of the hero swinging from skyscrapers and lifting rubble of collapsed buildings with her yo-yo, both of which should be impossible given the size of the yo-yo and the flexibility of the wire—the yo-yo was _definitely_ not large enough to hold enough wire for Ladybug to be swinging from building to building; and a wire strong enough to lift buses shouldn’t be so flexible. So just how long could the wire be extended? How much weight could it support? How—

“You’re a fan, aren’t you?”

Izuku blinked. Kacchan and his goons were nowhere to be found. He blushed – he must’ve been so absorbed in his muttering that he missed Ladybug sending them away.

Before Izuku could compose himself to answer, the girl nodded enthusiastically, seeming to come out of her shell now that her tormentors were gone, “Yes! You’re my favourite hero! I wanna be an amazing hero just like you and save so many people when I grow up! I wanted to cut my hair short like you, but my mum won’t let me, so I can only do it when I get older.” She pouted, but then brightened immediately, “Can I have an auto…an auto…auto-thingy? And a photo?”

Ladybug smiled warmly. She flipped open her yo-yo and took a few selfies with the girl, somehow printing the photos out. If the inside of the yo-yo was the equivalent of a smartphone, then where was the wire stored? Were there two separate yo-yos that Ladybug pretended was the same? But why? And wouldn’t it—

“Do you want an autograph too, kiddo?” Ladybug asked, amused, as she capped a newly created Ladybug themed marker and handed both the pen and the set of signed photos to the girl.

Izuku nodded excitedly. When Ladybug printed the photos, Izuku noted the yo-yo had an opening slot that slid out pieces of photos. Huh, he didn’t notice any slots earlier. But that thought was soon abandoned as Ladybug’s palm glowed bright pink. When the light faded, another marker sat in Ladybug’s palm.

Seeing Ladybug’s quirk in action was _so cool_. Izuku wondered how her quirk worked. Did she pull the elements from the surrounding environment to form her product? Was there a limit to how many items she could produce, or a range of influence to the area her quirk could restore? Izuku had once seen Ladybug use her restoration move, ‘Miraculous Ladybug’, on an entire city in a video, but could she influence an even greater area that that? Could she—

“You’re so interested in my quirk! Well, I—” Ladybug interrupted.

Izuku’s face reddened, and he stared quietly down at his feet. He had been muttering in front of a pro hero! She must think he was so creepy and—

“Hey, I don’t think your muttering is creepy.” Ladybug kneeled down and looked at him in the face. “It’s pretty cute, actually. Do you have an analysis quirk? Your analysis is amazing!”

Izuku’s spirits rose with Ladybug’s comments—she didn’t think his muttering was creepy! But with her last statement, his heart sank again. He whispered, “…I…actually…I don’t…have…a quirk…”

Ladybug blinked, “Oh! Then your analysis is even more incredible! You noticed so many details that other people don’t usually notice! Besides, quirk or no quirk, you were a hero to Ando today.”

It took a second for Izuku to realize she was talking about the girl he had tried to protect, and even longer for the entire sentence to register. Ladybug…she…believed he was a good hero? A _pro hero_ believed he was a good hero? Izuku sniffled happily. “…really…?”

“Of course! Ando, don’t you have something to say to him?”

Ando blinked, looking up from the selfies she had been studying intently, “Oh…yeah! Thanks!”

Ladybug gestured at the girl. “See? What you did just now was very brave. Now, what is your name?”

“…Midoriya Izuku.”

Ladybug smiled, scrawling a message at the back of one of the photos. When Izuku read the message, his tear ducts overloaded.

_[Thank you for your bravery today, Midoriya. You were a real hero!_

_–Ladybug]_

Ladybug handed a piece of tissue paper to him, concerned, “I hope those are happy tears.”

Izuku nodded furiously, “That was the best thing anyone ever said to me! Thank you so much, Ladybug!” Carefully shoving his photos and marker into his pocket, he rushed forward to hug the hero. “Thank you!”

Ladybug patted his head gently, “Do you two want a lift home?”

Ando squealed, while Izuku nodded softly.

That was how Izuku found himself held in the arms of Ladybug, the Pro Hero somehow managing to hold two children in her hand while swinging though a city with a yo-yo. Beside him, Ando chattered away excitedly. Izuku swallowed his tears long enough to ask a few questions about Ladybug’s yo-yo and quirk, but they were always met by a playful “It’s a secret.”

Ando’s home was closer, so she was dropped off first. She jokingly pouted that Izuku got to spend more time with Ladybug, but quickly went inside when Ladybug told her to.

When Ladybug landed in the corridor leading to Izuku’s apartment, the two were alone.

Ladybug smiled, “Goodbye, Midoriya.”

Izuku startled. He didn’t want Ladybug to leave yet – not yet. He still… “Wait!”

Ladybug paused, retracting her extended arm about to throw the yo-yo. “Yes?”

“Did…did…you mean it? The part about me being a hero? I…I’ve always wanted to be a hero…but everyone said a quirkless Deku like me can’t be a hero… So…can I do it…? Can I be quirkless and a hero?”

Ladybug paused, then smiled and said, “Do you know what makes a hero great? They don’t have to have flashy quirks or any quirk at all. What makes a hero great is how they try their best to help and protect others, no matter how scared they are. What you’ve done today, is what any great hero would do. Besides, you’re smarter and more observant than most people. I heard what you observed about my yo-yo and quirk, and really, those are very good points. If you keep honing those skills, I’d say you have as much of a chance as any kid with a quirk. So yes, you can be a great hero, Midoriya.”

Izuku gasped. He stood there, his heart bursting with joy, long after Ladybug had left.

Finally, _finally_ , someone believed in him. He could be a hero – he could help and protect others like All Might and Ladybug, even without a quirk! He could…he could… The world suddenly seemed bright and full of possibilities, possibilities that he thought had disappeared when he was five and diagnosed quirkless.

His impossible dreams suddenly didn’t seem so impossible after all.

Grinning, Izuku opened the door to his apartment, ready to tell his mother the good news.

* * *

_“You like him, don’t you?”_ Tikki accused through their telepathic bond as soon as they had left the boy behind.

Marinette hummed noncommittally as she flung out her yo-yo out, _“Yeah, I do. He’s so sweet, and I know he can be a good hero.”_

_“So you want to offer him a miraculous.”_

_“…well, you said yourself the miraculous aren’t meant to be locked up! And as a Guardian, I can choose potential holders. Besides, I have a feeling Midoriya hasn’t had a lot of good influences in his life. He called himself useless, remember? Having a miraculous would do wonders for his mental health, and he wouldn’t waste his potential wallowing in self-doubt.”_

_“You met him_ once _.”_

_“Yeah, well…”_ Marinette hesitated as she reeled in her yo-yo and flung it out again. _“I’m not going to give it to him_ immediately _. I’ll observe him first; get to know him better. And I’ll ask permission from his mum! I won’t just secretly make him my apprentice or something.”_

Tikki sighed. Marinette could almost see her physical form sag in defeat. _“You better. We don’t want history to repeat, do we?”_

Marinette winced, _“That was nearly_ three hundred years _ago, Tikki. You don’t have to mention it_ every time _I choose a holder.”_

_“But I saved you from bad choices several times, didn’t I?”_ Tikki teased. Marinette rolled her eyes mentally at her kwami’s disembodied giggles. Though she would never admit it, Tikki could be just as much of a drama queen as Plagg.

_“I already have planned a few visits in mind.”_

* * *

After their initial encounter, Ladybug visited Izuku several more times.

The first time had been a day after their meeting, when the Pro Hero had surprised him in the isolated park. Izuku was a bit confused that she seemed to have taken such an interest in him—he was just a quirkless Deku, after all, but any talk of her not having to check up on Izuku simply had her shaking her head fondly. They talked about Izuku’s hobbies, and Izuku nervously showed the hero his analysis notebook. Luckily, Ladybug seemed to find the notebook fascinating. She even told him some suggestions and ideas for him to write in his notebook! It was the best afternoon Izuku had spent in a long time.

Being with Ladybug felt like an impossible dream come true. Ladybug didn’t mind his quirklessness, his creepy muttering, _or_ his stalkerish analysis notebooks. Instead, she _encouraged_ Izuku to embrace his qualities.

Sometimes, Izuku wondered if Ladybug was just a fever dream his brain made up—he was worthless, just a quirkless Deku, why would something as amazing as this happen to him? It was more realistic that he had probably hit his head and was hallucinating their meeting.

But Izuku was determined to treasure their time together, _especially_ since he might wake up from this fever dream at any point. He looked forward to his meetings with Ladybug like how he looked forward to hero sightings, and even though his time with Ladybug took time away from when he could be hero watching, she more than made up for it with anecdotes about her adventures.

To Izuku, Ladybug felt like his only friend apart from Kacchan – though some days even _Kacchan_ didn’t feel like his friend. Sure, All Might was still his favourite hero, but Ladybug was present in a way All Might was not – _she_ was the one who made Izuku feel safe and not alone; she was real and not a distant idol, not someone to be worshipped. Izuku liked them both in different ways.

His new routine continued like this for the next two months. Go to school, gush about Ladybug to anyone who would listen, get hit for said muttering, go to the park to spend time with Ladybug, squeeze in hero watching activities in between, go home, gush about Ladybug to his mum, rinse and repeat.

It was not the perfect routine – it left too little time for hero watching; people at school seemed to hate his talk about Ladybug even _more_ than his normal muttering; and his mum always seemed a little uneasy when he talked about Ladybug. But it was good – one person besides his mum liked him and _wanted_ to spend time with him, so Izuku swallowed the flaws without complaints and never told anyone – not his mum, not Ladybug – about them.

He should’ve known this routine was too good to last.

* * *

Izuku knew at once that something was wrong when he found Kacchan and his goons waiting in the park. He had memorised their timetables – on weekdays, they liked to go to the playground or the mall or a few other places, but _never_ the park. The park was Izuku’s safe haven until the weekends. Kacchan was never one to deviate from his routine unless something – or someone – came up.

He glanced nervously around the park. As usual, there was no one else there at that time of the day. Ladybug was also nowhere to be found – she was sometimes late, though not often.

Izuku knew the smart thing to do was run, but it was already too late at that point. Kacchan had already spotted him.

He swallowed as Kacchan marched angrily up to him, his two goons trailing behind with sneers on their faces. He felt like a prisoner at his execution.

“…hi, Kacchan.” Izuku licked his lips, wincing internally. _Stupid._ He shouldn’t have called Kacchan by his hated nickname when he was in such a foul mood. He hoped he wouldn’t pay for this mistake too dearly.

Kacchan snarled. “ _Deku._ You aren’t so high and mighty without your precious Ladybug now, are you?”

“…what…?”

“Of course a stupid Deku like you wouldn’t understand.” Kacchan spat. “You keep talking about Ladybug this and Ladybug that ever since she fucking _saved_ you. It’s so fucking annoying.” His palms sparked as he took a step forward.

Izuku flinched. “I’m sorry, I—“ He tried to take a step back, but his legs were frozen to the floor.

“I fucking hate Ladybug. She’s so nosey and annoying, always treating me like a villain. I’m the one with a great quirk, the one who will become a great hero! I’m not some wannabe villain! And—“

“Don’t say that! Ladybug is great! She…” Izuku swallowed and trailed off at the murderous look on Kacchan’s face.

“See? You know a quirkless Deku like you can’t be a hero, so you stick around someone great to pretend that you aren’t worthless. Well, you’re just a useless Deku who never shuts up. So I’m gonna help you do that.”

Before Izuku could react, Kacchan set off an explosion point-blank into Izuku’s face.

Izuku screamed. His sight faded to red and black. His ears rang. “I’m sorry, Kacchan! I…just…”

“I _hate_ you.” Kacchan gripped his shoulders tightly, setting off twin explosions. They were larger than any of the explosions Izuku had ever experienced, and his entire torso _burnt_. “I hate that you still believe you can be a hero. It’s so annoying.” He swung his fist into Izuku’s already burning face. Izuku thought he was used to pain, but it hurt. It hurt _so much_.

“Your stupid dreams are _impossible_ , Deku. Why can’t you just accept that?”

Izuku tried to run the direction opposite to Kacchan, Kacchan easily grabbed his arm and twisted it back. His face, twisted by rage, blurred in and out of focus.

Izuku screamed. “Kacchan…Please…”

“See? You can’t defend yourself – you can’t even _run_. What makes you think you can help people?” _Flash. Burn. Punch._ “What make you think you can be like All Might? What makes you think you can be like _me_?”

Izuku had to do something. He had to…he had to…

The last thing Izuku saw before losing consciousness was Kacchan’s fist once again reaching towards his face.


End file.
